Washtenaw Community College outsources IT amid public outcry

Posted Jun 26, 2019

Martin Slagter | The Ann Arbor News

Members of the public express support for members of Washtenaw Community College's information technology department, urging the college's Board of Trustees not to outsource. The board approved outsourcing IT functions to Ellucian.

ANN ARBOR, MI - Washtenaw Community College will outsource its technology management services despite outcry from members of its information technology department, the public and the board who believe the move was hurried and potentially flawed.

WCC’s Board of Trustees approved outsourcing its IT services to Ellucian in a five-year, $26-million agreement impacting 31 full-time staff members in what is expected to save the college $600,000 per year. The decision was approved by a 5-2 margin, with members Dave DeVarti and Ruth Hatcher opposing.

DeVarti and Hatcher believed the decision was rushed and expressed concern after receiving almost exclusively negative feedback on the move from the public over the past month. DeVarti said the lack of consistent leadership within the IT department in recent years didn’t put the department in the best position to succeed.

“I take personal responsibility as a member of the board, that we have failed in our mission by allowing our IT department to wallow without strong visionary leadership,” he said.

Hatcher feared the decision would leave WCC without a solid plan moving forward if it were unhappy with Ellucian’s services, while also pointing to concerning conversations she had with representatives with the company regarding its stance on diversity.

“I’m very concerned about spending $26 million on something that I have no choice in," Hatcher said. "I’m concerned about the public’s response to outsourcing to a company that’s not (based in) Michigan. I didn’t receive any supportive emails from the community. All the emails I got - both from the community and institutional - were negative.”

WCC President Rose Bellanca said she anticipated blowback for the decision to outsource IT services, but ultimately believes it will help the college streamline and expand its IT capabilities. She noted all 31 full-time employees will not only have the opportunity to join Ellucian’s staff, but be guaranteed positions within the WCC.

“I know it sounds like we don’t value our employees, but we do, or we wouldn’t have given them a transition plan that is probably one of the most generous out there,” Bellanca said. “We tried to show our employees that are here facing this challenge that ‘we do value you.’”

Those taking a buyout offer would get one year pay, based on the employee’s current wages, along with medical coverage for themselves and dependents for those who have more than 10 years of service.

Those with five to 10 years of service would get six months salary and medical benefits, while employees with less than five years of experience would receive three months salary and medical benefits.

Bellanca dismissed “misconceptions” about the instability of leadership within the department stunting the department’s growth, pointing to the leadership of WCC Chief Financial Officer Bill Johnson, who had prior experience as a chief information officer, and its contract with Campus Works to bring in “the best CIO money could buy.”

“We just got to a point where we knew we were not going anywhere,” Bellanca said.

The college also noted demand for technological services continues to grow, with a projected IT budget of $8.2 million for 2020 - a 25-percent increase from four years ago. The college projects spending about $7.6 million on its IT budget in the 2019 fiscal year.

Before the outsourcing proposal was approved, some IT department members pleaded for their jobs to remain in-house, including Nicholas Hunt, who has worked within the department for 12 years.

“Please don’t do this to us,” Hunt said. “Please do not put 31 families in disarray. Please, do invest in us, because we have invested in WCC as students and as staff.”

WCC Lead System Engineer Francisco Roque, a former student and employee for more than 20 years, said the lack of stable leadership within the department in recent years didn’t put workers in a position to succeed.

“For years, we’ve asked for a CIO to have positions refilled, then one day we’re told we can’t handle it and that we’ll be outsourced,” he said. “We had no meetings, no (opportunities) to tell you our side (or) offer our suggestions.”

Providing impassioned support by sporting signs that included “Go to Hellucian” and “Outsource Bellanca,” members of the public suggested a decision to outsource could lead to consequences for WCC Board of Trustees members.

“If we cannot reason with you today, then we’ll come for your jobs tomorrow,” WCC student and Young Democratic Socialists member Robert Barber said, addressing the trustees. “The public will know what happened here. Outrage will boil over. Those seats will be occupied by others.”

Marie Wood, who pushed for the IT department to be spared online over the past month, suggested the college should consider moving toward new leadership at the top, rather than bring in IT leadership from the outside.

“I truly believe this decision stems from personal gain,” said Wood during public comment Tuesday. “I also truly believe that once this passes, that the president will retire as a mission accomplished. I do not believe any of this is for the college and it breaks my heart.”

Services with Ellucian, which provides technology management services at more than 160 higher education institutions, will begin within 30 days of executing a contract. Ellucian will provide all current and future technology needs for WCC, including support for 3,500 computing devices, more than 450 software applications and maintenance of more than 250 virtual services.

While board members like Diana McKnight-Morton and Angela Davis empathized with employees, talking about how they also experienced layoffs during their career, they urged workers to take time to consider their best path forward.

“Like many of you, I have misgivings about aspects of the tools we’ve proposed,” WCC Board President Christina Fleming said. “But ultimately we need them to run our business. I implore you all to stay - jump in with both feet and learn all that you can learn and take advantage of every opportunity given.”